Sawran or Sauran ( kk, Сауран, translit=Sauran, ) is an ancient city located north-west of the city of

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

in Southern Kazakhstan, near the river Syr Darya. One of the earliest mentions of the city comes from the Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi, who described it in the 10th century as "a large city surrounded by seven walls, mosque located in the inner city." In 1065, the city submitted to the Seljuq dynasty, which was part of the transformation of the

Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...

into a vassal of the Seljuqs. Around the 1370s, when the region was under the control of

Urus Khan Urus Khan ( fa, ; also known as Muḥammad-Urūs, Orys, Arys, Yrys, Orys Khan) was the eighth Khan of the White Horde and a disputed Khan of the Blue Horde; he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Urus himself was the direct ancestor of the ...

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...

of the blue horde, heavily supported by

Amir Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

, tried to conquer the region, aiming to rule the cities of Sawran,

Otrar Otrar or Utrar ( kk, Отырар, ''Otyrar'', otəˈɾɑɾ otk, 𐰚𐰭𐱃𐰺𐰢𐰣, Keŋü Tarman), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town ...

, Saganac, Seiram, Serai, and others. The city provided the brick and tile for the construction of

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi ( kz, Қожа Ахмет Яссауи кесенесі, ''Qoja Ahmet İassaui kesenesı''; russian: Мавзолей Ходжи Ахмеда Ясави, ''Mavzoley khodzhi Akhmeda Yasavi'') is a mausoleum in ...

, which was commissioned by

in 1389; the mausoleum is 25 miles from the city. By the 15th century, the city had established diplomatic relations with the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

, which recorded the name of the city in the

Ming Shilu The ''Ming Shilu'' () contains the imperial annals of the emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). It is the single largest historical source for the dynasty. According to modern historians, it "plays an extremely important role in the histo ...

as 掃蘭 (saolan). The poet Zayn al-Din Mahmud Vasifi visited the city from 1514 to 1515, and described the city's

karez A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

water infrastructure. Like

, the city suffered with the decline of Silk Road, and struggles for power in the region.

References

Ancient cities Archaeological sites in Kazakhstan {{Asia-archaeology-stub